Database Definition terms
This table shows the Infor Lawson terms you should know when using dbdef:
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| File | A file is a set of fields, indexes, and rules. You must define files before you can define fields, indexes, and rules. |
| Field | A field refers to the units of data in a file that have the same
name. A field belongs to one file, and so a field name is unique to a file. The term
field may also refer to a unit of data in a specific record. For example, the
EMPLOYEE file includes fields like LAST-NAME,
CITY, and PAY-RATE. |
| Element | An element is a name attached to a field and defines the properties of fields, such as data type and size. The element is unique within a product line. You can link more than one field to an element, where each field has a different name. |
| Derived field |
A derived field is a conceptual field that uses the values of existing fields. It does not retain any values itself and is not physically stored in the database. There are five types of derived fields: string fields, group fields, condition fields, compute fields, and array value fields. You can identify derived field types in a file by observing the text in the fifth column of the list of fields on the File Definition form of the Database Definition tool. |
| Index | An index is a way to access and order records in a file. Each index represents an order defined by key fields in an index table. A file can have up to 16 indexes. Every file must have a primary index. Third-party database implementations rely on a primary index to store data. |
| Key field | Each index can have up to 13 key fields. |
| Index condition | You can use an index condition to create a subset of the file. Only records satisfying the condition are accessible when a conditional index is used. |